


Curiosity killed the bunny

by Marilu



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Bad English, Bilbo is bunny, Cliche, Crack, Except Bilbo who is bunny at first, Fairytale-like, I had drank some red wine when I wrote this, I had great idea at first but then I lost it, I'm Bad At Tagging, I'm Sorry, I'm not native english speaker, M/M, My worst fic ever, Sex, There is no diffenrent races, Theyre all humans, Well can't say he's human either, bunny - Freeform, but not with animals!, magic-potions, prince - Freeform, wizard(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-11
Updated: 2014-08-01
Packaged: 2018-02-08 11:06:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 12,493
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1938594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marilu/pseuds/Marilu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Frowning Prince Thorin is about to inhert his late-grandfather's kingdom. Fearing that he would never learn to respect and care about others than himself, his relatives and subordinates decides to go and find him a woman who could teach him those things. But instead of finding a pretty lady they (or just Fili and Kili) buy him a bunny... </p><p>Serioulsy stupid in my eyes and ignores the plot as it continues. I kinda only post it here 'cause if I don't I would feel like I wasted totally those three hours which I used to write this... thing.... But who knows, maybe you'll find it... dunno, cute?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * Translation into 中文 available: [Curiosity killed the bunny~好奇心害死兔子~](https://archiveofourown.org/works/3352319) by [hana0](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hana0/pseuds/hana0)



Once upon a time, there was this mighty, rich kingdom, currently without a king or a queen. The previous king, Thror Durin, had just died due the long illness. It makes me a little bit sad to tell you that his demise was not actually a sad event for his people… You see, Thror used to be a good king, wise and loved. But something changed him, changed him so that eventually there was nothing left of that wise and righteous man. Then what changed him? Well, the answer is sadly simple:

 

The gold.

 

Yes. As Thror noticed what kind of riches his mines contained, he decided that all that gold and diamonds belonged only to him, his people would deserve nothing. So the kingdom was rich, but the people were still starving, because the king’s greed only kept growing; soon he started to collect more taxes, took more than his people were able to give.

But what about his illness? Oh yes, it was that sick greed that poisoned and killed him. Because he wouldn’t even remember to eat or sleep, barely even breathe when he just wanted to be alone with his treasures, showing only love to those golden coins and glittering jewelries.

So no wonder that people were cheering as their once loved king drifted away. Their happiness grew as the council took over the kingdom, lowered the taxes and ruled the kingdom wisely. But they all knew that this peace and happiness could be destroyed again in a few years.

You see, Thror’s son had disappeared and most likely died years ago, but he had a grandson; Thorin. Even though Thorin wasn’t as greed as his grandfather, the council was worried that this would change as Thorin takes over the throne and legally inherits all that gold his grandfather had gathered. Because even though prince Thorin was already a grown up man, the law said that the council will rule the kingdom until he turns thirty five or gets married. And since Thorin had absolutely no interest to marry anybody, as a thirty four years old he needed to wait for a one year more before becoming a real king.

And right now, the situation wasn’t looking so good: Thorin was uptight, uncommunicative and constantly wore that frown on his face. The people close to him knew that he was like this because he didn’t want to show his weakness to his people, thinking that being a good king meant same as being feared. Sometimes it felt like there was no humanity in him. Of course his friends (well, some people working in the castle) and relatives (well, he got two grown up nephews) knew that from the inside Thorin was righteous and gentle man, even though he didn’t show that often, and in these days almost never.

 

“We now have less than year before Thorin will inherit the crown. And he still isn’t even smiling..!” Balin, one member of the council sighed as he was drinking his evening tea with the servants and other workers in palace.

“Well, we have tried our everything, but he isn’t even listening me, his oldest friend..!” Balin’s little brother Dwalin, also the prince’s bodyguard huffed in frustration.

“Yeah! We are his nephews and he ignores our opinions too..!” Fili and Kili jumped in the conversation.

These “let’s have some ale and think what to do with our stubborn prince”-meetings were too known for these men by now. Every Saturday evening the council members Balin and Dori, bodyguards Dwalin, Gloin and Bifur, prince Fili and Prince Kili, cook Bombur, doctor Oin, musicians Bofur and Nori and the young scribe Ori gathered together and tried to think what they could do to change their friend and future king.

“I’m worried that if we don’t do something soon he will let that gold change him like it changed Thror…” Oin shook his head, implying that this time they really needed to figure out something.

“Every one of us has tried to talk to some sense to him, but it really seems that he won’t listen anyone.” Gloin stated.

“Well if he isn’t listening us, what about some pretty little lady then..?” Bofur grinned, moving his eyebrows in a suggestive way.

“Come on! Uncle’s heart isn’t melting for some woman..!” Fili rolled his eyes, thinking back all those times when he and his little brother had tried to get their uncle even in a one date.

“And where would we even find a woman who isn’t thinking Durin’s line as a greed and unkind family?” Dori spoke in his turn.

“And even if we would find one, she would most likely be only interested about money, not about Thorin and his heart.” Bombur sighed, gaining sad nods and huffs from everyone else.

“But hey..! There must be at least a one woman in this world that isn’t like that..! We can’t give up before we try!” Nori stood up, gathering all the attention.

“If we manage to find one, who knows, maybe she would be able to melt Thorin’s heart..!” Gloin, who thought how his own wife had changed him brutally said, hope clear in his words.

Not every one of them were sure that a beautiful woman would manage to do that kind of miracle, but at least it was worth of trying.

“A woman might make him want to take care of her, pamper and so on. And by doing so he will understand that the real, breathing people are much more important than the old dusty treasures and coins..!” Balin dared to smile a little as he thought what wonders their currently non-existing  lady could do.

“Yeah, maybe only a woman could make him do those kind of things, teach him something about love.” Oin and Bifur nodded.

“Wouldn’t a pet do the same job..?”

Now all the eyes in the room were staring at their youngest member Ori, who hadn’t meant anything silly by his comment, only saying what was in his mind.

“Ori, you clearly didn’t get the whole point… You see, pets do teach you about caring and responsibility, but I don’t think that a horse or a dog would be as good for our prince as a beautiful lady would be… ” Dori sighed, thinking that his sixteen year old younger brother was still too innocent to understand the things what adults were talking about.

“So… Where do we start to search Thorin’s one true love?” Bofur returned to the topic, and Kili had already answer for him.

“Well who says that we have to go all over the world for finding him a lady? Maybe his dream girl can be found from the marketplace! There are all kinds of people, shop keepers who had come far away, from the places we have never even heard of!”

Still a few of them were a little suspicious about this plan. Especially Dwalin was sure that Thorin didn’t have an eye for the ladies, but he decided to keep that information as a secret. And who knows, maybe this crazy plan was crazy enough to work..!

“So it’s settled then. Fili and Kili, on Monday you two will go to the marketplace and do your very best for finding that woman to your uncle..!” Balin ended the meeting, gaining cheers from others, especially from Fili and Kili.

“Are you sure that this is a good idea..?” Dwalin whispered to his brother as everyone else started to leave the room.

“What do you mean? You know that our little princes’ faces aren’t known among the people, they are perfectly safe. And you have taught them to fight too, trust them.”

“I’m not worried about their safety… Do you really trust that they will find the right woman? I have known Thorin since he was a little boy, so have you. Wouldn’t one of us do a better job?” Dwalin spoke his worry.

“Dwalin… How would it look like if an old guy like me asks younger ladies to come with me so they could meet their future husband..? And you’re way too scary-looking; no sweet, cute and gentle woman would approach you..!”

“…Ori is sweet, cute and gentle and he isn’t afraid of me… Much…” Dwalin huffed quietly, blushing a bit also what certainly amused his older brother.

“That’s because Ori knows you..! But don’t worry, I’m positive that Fili and Kili know their uncle’s taste well enough, and as a young and handsome lads they will be able to approach some young sweet ladies.” Balin patted his brother on the shoulder (he needed to reach up for that…), and started to blow out the candles, making the room become dimmer and dimmer.

“Let’s just trust them..!”

 

 

 

As the Monday came, Fili and Kili hurried to the marketplace early in the morning. They weren’t the first ones there, the shops were already open and there were dozens of people on the streets.

“Keep your eyes open for the cuties..!” Fili nudged his brother on the shoulder.

“Don’t worry, I always do..!” Kili teased his brother back.

 

Well finding a pretty girl was truly an easy job. But finding a suitable one, perfect for their uncle was a different thing. You see, even though Fili and Kili were rather close to their uncle, they had no idea what kind of women he likes when they had never even seen Thorin talking with any other female expect their mother, his sister.

“I bet he likes short ones.” Kili suspected.

“Short ones with straight or curly hair?” Fili questioned.

“I think that does she have a blond or brown or ginger hair matters more.”

“Well Dwalin likes short and cute ones with ginger hair, so maybe he and uncle share the same taste, being old friends and all.”

The boys really tried not to laugh, but ended up giggling anyway. They always had so much fun when watching Dwalin and Ori’s clumsy romance, and if Dwalin wouldn’t be so strong they would have openly teased them about it.

“Okay, back to work..! I’m pretty sure that uncle likes also the short and cute type, he has never praised my blond hair like many others had so maybe his more into brunettes.  And brunettes with curly hair are usually super cute, so let’s try to look for a one, okay?” Fili deduced, gaining a nod from his brother.

They were sure that they wouldn’t have to search long for a girl who was fitting for that description, but Kili only needed to turn around to see something so very fitting…!

“Fili..! Look there!” Kili turned his brother’s face to look at the one little market stand.

“Kili… I don’t think that uncle likes it very much if we bring him an old, gray haired tall man…” Fili sighed, getting now little tired of his little brother’s jokes.

“Not him! Look what he sells!” Kili huffed impatiently.

As Fili’s eyes saw the same as Kili’s did, he chuckled a bit, but when his brother did not do the same, he shook his head slowly.

“Umm… Yeah, she’s very cute, but… Should we really buy him one..?”

But Kili wasn’t listening his brother anymore. He had already leaded them closer to the old man and his little shop, staring at the cutie he had laid his eyes on.

“Hello young men. How can I help you?” the shopkeeper asked as he was calmly smoking his old pipe.

“Is she for sale? We would like to buy her as a gift for our uncle..!” Kili pointed at the curly haired cutie who jumped back a little as he tried to touch her.

“You mean you want to buy _him_?” the old man corrected the young prince.

“So he’s a boy..! Oh well, it doesn’t make much difference, he’s so cute anyway..!”

Now Fili was also enchanted by this little cutie’s charm, and was sure that if this sweet little boy didn’t soften Thorin’s heart then nothing would..!

“Well… If I speak the truth, I wouldn’t like to sell him so easily. I have grown fond of him and his quiet company…” the shopkeeper explained, but the boys weren’t going to give up easily.

“Please..! You see, we need to make our uncle to see what it means to care about others, and nobody could ignore this little sweetheart!” Kili smiled as he was now finally able to pet those brown soft curls.

“We would personally make sure that he is in good hands..!” Fili promised, and as the old man saw the look in their eyes, a grin appeared on his face.

Yes, this old shopkeeper looked harmless, but he was very wise and sharp. He only needed to look those youngsters twice and he had already guessed who they really were. After all, only the members of the royal family would have that determination in their eyes and voice.

“I see… Well, I’m sure that even the coldest heart will melt as soon as they understand how amazing this little guy really is. I’ll trust you boys.”

Fili and Kili were so greatly happy as the old man gave his agreement. Then Fili took the coin pouch from his pocket, asking how much their little angel costs.

“You may have him for free. But only if you give me your word that no harm will come to him.” the shopkeeper smiled.

“Wow, you’re very generous, mister…?”

“Grey. Gandalf Grey.” the old man answered as he shook Fili’s hand.

 

 

 

 

Some of them were laughing so hard, others just stared.

“If you think that this prank was funny, you’re so wrong..!” Dori hissed, but the two princes guaranteed that they were being serious here.

“Come on, Dori! Less than in a year the whole kingdom’s fate will be in our uncle’s hands! We wouldn’t joke about this!”

“But you bought him a frigging RABBIT!”

The little, curly haired brunette bunny was shaking violently as he was placed on the wooden table, twelve pair of eyes glued to him.

“Okay boys… I must say that he truly is a cutie, but… What the hell were you thinking..?!” Bofur was choking now after laughing so much, but ended up giggling again as he saw how furious Dori looked.

“Just quit it and look at him..! You just can’t say no to this little guy!” Kili lifted the poor bunny from the table, shoving it closer to his companions eyes.

And soon those giggling sounds started to suppress, making them all sighing as they saw that pink pretty nose, cute pointy ears and dark big eyes.

Yes, they were enchanted.

“Okay, everybody..! Stop that! This is serious! Now you two go back to the marketplace and return this little thing!” Dwalin tried to be reasonable, but wasn’t able to be one for long as Ori started to pet the little rabbit.

“I think that he is so very cute..!”

“Isn’t he?!” Fili and Kili enlightened, now knowing that Dwalin wouldn’t be able to demand them to return their little pet after Ori’s statement.

“The shopkeeper said that his name is Bilbo..! And he also gave us all these herbs and weeds in case our little bunny’s stomach gets upset or something..!” Kili and Fili eagerly showed the little leather pouch that Gandalf had gave to them. 

“Well… The rabbit is already here, what harm it could cause to try..?” Balin suggested, trying to trust to the two young prince as he had told Dwalin to do.

“Usually Thorin only has rabbits on his plate, but this one is too sweet to eat..!” Bombur was now petting the poor Bilbo, who had no idea what was going on around him.

“Fine…” the skeptics Dwalin, Dori, Gloin and Oin sighed.

“But we don’t wanna be around when you give him to him…”

 

 

 

 

“Later, I’m busy..!”

“You’re like, always busy! No time would be good for you so you might as well come now!”

“And you never have anything important to say, so why should I bother?!” Thorin was getting angry at his nephews, who were shouting behind his door, insisting that their uncle should just drop his work and go to see what they got to show.

“We have a gift for you!”

“I don’t need gifts!”

“Please uncle, please! You will love it, we swear!”, Kili pleaded.

Thorin huffed. It seemed that the boys wouldn’t leave him alone before he accepts their present. And when his eighteen years old nephew Kili started to sound like eight year old child whining, Thorin finally opened the door, only to see how his sister’s sons were grinning, smiles up to their ears.

“Now, what is it?”

The smile only widened on their lips as they looked at each other, nodded and then Kili showed their uncle what he had been hiding behind his back.

“Here! What do you say, isn’t he the cutest thing ever?!”

Needless to say that Thorin only stared at the little animal that was presented to him, sighed, then closed the door again.

 

 

 

 

Bilbo was really bitter to Gandalf. And he had every reason to be.

Well of course he was also very thankful to his former owner. After all, he wouldn’t have survived when his little hole collapsed, and without home the wolves would have surely eaten him. But Gandalf found him, praised how cute the little rabbit was and took care of him. He brought Bilbo far away from his former home, towards the kingdom called Erebor. And Bilbo didn’t mind, as long as he was feed he was happy.

But then the old man betrayed him by selling him into this crazy household..!

Okay, maybe it wasn’t so bad. He got plenty of food here, and had a better shelter too. He missed the daylight and the real grass, but thought that he could cope with that. After all, Bilbo was very reasonable rabbit; he knew that you can’t have everything. But soon it was getting quite annoying when everyone wanted to pet him, some of them little too roughly, how they all kept telling how cute and sweet he was and Bilbo’s long ears were filled up here with all that baby-talk..

If he could choose, he would spent his time with the youngest lad Ori, the scribe who was very calm, although he tend to be little reckless sometimes, but was soon quiet down by his oldest brother Dori. But Bilbo rather enjoyed the times when the boy was knitting, the sound what those wooden knitting needles made was rather relaxing. But usually Ori knitted only when he was alone, and he wasn’t alone very long as the scary looking man Dwalin found him and started to chat with the boy. And Bilbo couldn’t help but be afraid of little, even though he knew that Dwalin pretty much liked him too, but wasn’t just showing his affection because as the prince’s bodyguard he needed to look tough, or that’s what Ori once said.

Bilbo also didn’t mind to spend his time with the merry cook they had, a big, very big human Bombur. But Bombur was usually in the kitchen, often making food from the meat and so Bilbo distained himself from the cook, for an oblivious reason.

The cook had one brother and cousin, who were pretty okay too. Expect that the cousin Bifur was just crumbling something, for a some reason unable to speak like other humans did. But Bifur was also prince’s bodyguard, so he tried not to be seen too often petting the little cute rabbit, and the third bodyguard Gloin was the same kind.

Bombur’s brother Bofur was merry and cheerful, and Bilbo liked him quite much too. But as a musician the man was bit too noisy company sometimes, and for the same reason Bilbo also stayed away from Bofur’s colleague Nori. And Nori’s big brother Dori was hardly ever seen when he was either pampering Ori or was doing some things that were related to some council thing. And in that council thing was also the pretty nice man called Balin, who was great company to Bilbo but was usually too busy to spent time with.

Doctor Oin would have been a pretty okay man too, but like many others he also was busy, and Bilbo was very offended when he said that he couldn’t accept a dirty animal to come in his nursery room. Bilbo was very clean rabbit from a good family, thank you. So it was no wonder that after a comment like this Bilbo stayed away from Oin’s presence.

And of course Bilbo had his opinion about the two young boys who had bought him. Fili and Kili seemed that they were normal noisy young humans, so instead of getting mad at them Bilbo just pouted whenever the boys interfered his personal space too much, which they did often, mind you.

But to put it short, Bilbo could bear everyone’s company somehow. And he would much rather be with anyone else but with the man whose care others constantly left him…

Thorin Durin, the future king of the Erebor.

And Bilbo couldn’t understand why they were doing so; Thorin was the only one who openly despised the poor rabbit. But every now and then Fili and Kili carried Bilbo to his new “owner”, who barely only glanced the little animal, huffed and told them to take it back to the forest or anywhere, as long as he wouldn’t have to see him.

“He is on your responsibly, not ours!” was always stated when the prince refused to feed the rabbit, play with him or brush his soft and curly furry. In the end, someone else always took care of Bilbo’s needs, since Thorin refused to do so, and they couldn’t actually force him.

 

After two weeks, almost all the hope was lost; Thorin didn’t seem to care about Bilbo at all. But they all thought that they knew the reason why; it was quite easy to ignore the rabbit, a small animal who couldn’t even make a sound.  A hungry dog would have at least howl and gather some attention. But Bilbo was almost invisible in Thorin’s eyes…

 

“Boys, I know that you wanted this to work, we all did, but I think it’s time for us to abandon this plan…”, Balin stated at one night in their usual meeting place.

“But… But no! We can’t give up! “ Kili insisted, but in vain.

“Don’t worry, let’s just find for Bilbo a nice, normal home and make up something else. We still have time before Thorin will start to rule Erebor.”, Oin tried to calm the young prince, but Kili wasn’t the only one who hated the idea of letting go of this plan and of course, letting go of Bilbo.

It wasn’t an unanimous decision, but eventually it was decided that tomorrow they will start to look a new home for their adorable little rabbit. Like Bilbo himself thought, they all knew that the little bunny belonged to somewhere where were green grass floors and beautiful sunlight till the night sky hid it.

 

As the evening grew older, the castle was preparing itself for sleeping. But the young prince Kili refused to believe that his uncle wouldn’t see how cute and awesome this little rabbit, currently sleeping on his lap, was.

“Kili… Let’s go to sleep…” Fili patted his brother’s shoulder, feeling exactly same sorrow as the younger one did.

But Kili just shook his head.

“I wanna try just one, just one more time..!”

 

\--------------

 

Thorin was completely exhausted after his long day. He had done some sword-training, studied some literature too. He had also had had some meetings with the council, so that’s why the day had been rougher and more tiring than usually. But as Thorin opened the door for his chamber, he had no idea that someone, or two someones, had sneaked in there earlier, leaving there literally a small surprise for him.

At first Thorin just wondered what the hell a small leather pouch was doing on his nightstand when it obliviously hadn’t been there on the morning. But it didn’t take too long for him to realize who had put it on there as he opened it; the smell of herbs filled his nose.

“This has something to do with that damned rabbit, right?” Thorin sighed and pressed his head against his palm. Of course, Fili and Kili still insisted him to pamper that little heap of hair…

And Thorin didn’t need to search for long when saw how the said animal was shivering in a corner, looking absolutely terrified. Like it was torture for him to be in the same room alone with his owner.

Thorin huffed at that; was he really that scary?

 

“It seems like I won’t get rid of you never?” he asked, knowing very well that he couldn’t get an answer from a mute bunny.

After they had stood in a silent for a while, the situation was getting awkward even for Thorin; it was like being in a same room with another person, someone who just waits for you to make the first move.

Eventually the future king decided to take Bilbo back to his nephews, but as he took a step closer, the little rabbit almost jumped and pressed himself harder against the wall.

“Don’t look like that, I’m not going to hurt you…” Thorin said, but his words had no effect on the small animal. So he knelt down and tried to call Bilbo to come to him instead.

“Bunny… Well, was it Bilbo? Okay, Bilbo, come here.”

No, the bunny didn’t move closer.

“Come on… It’s alright.”

When this method wasn’t working, Thorin remembered the herbs and tried to lure little Bilbo out from the corner with them. The prince was calm and patient, and after some minutes Bilbo slowly started to hop forward, sniffing the delicious herbs Thorin held in his hands. A little smile appeared on Thorin’s face as Bilbo ate from his hand.

“Good boy.” Thorin praised, and if bunnies could blush, Bilbo would have had slightly red cheeks now.

Thorin waited till Bilbo had eaten every single weed (which didn’t take too long), and after a little hesitation he gently petted Bilbo, surprised how soft the little animal really was.

The silence between them was changing from the awkwardness to something really comfortable, and Thorin could swear that the little rabbit was too smiling faintly. He only flinched a little when Thorin lifted him up and placed him to sit on his large bed.

“You can sleep here tonight. If you promise not to tell anything about this to others.”

Bilbo sniffed and nuzzled the soft blanket, until he yawned and curled himself into a little ball and fell asleep. Thorin chuckled at that, and very carefully leaned to place a little kiss on the bunny’s forehead.

Yeah, he didn’t know why he was now acting so peculiarly, but maybe he saw no reason to be all tough and mighty when he was alone with a little soft bunny. And being like this was actually kind of relaxing. There really was a gentle side in him, the side he rarely showed to others and even forgot himself for having one sometimes. But well, Thorin still was a king-to-be, so tomorrow morning he would return this bunny back to his useless nephews and scold them about sneaking into his chamber.  But tonight he could forget all that and just enjoy about Bilbo’s quiet company and fall asleep next to his little pet.


	2. Chapter 2

Erebor wasn’t actually any sunny place. It was usually misty and had a grey sky above it, but sometimes the sun decided to peek over the heavy clouds and say hello to this mighty kingdom. And this morning it was unusually bright, shining from the window straight to Thorin’s face, waking him up to this new, unexpected day.

As Thorin first opened his eyes he saw nothing unexpected. The same old view, this time decorated with sunlight was showing from his high little windows, the same old furniture was watching him back.  Thorin knew that it must be still early, but as a future king he forced himself to wake up before 7am, even thought he would have nothing to do in the whole day. This was showing some self-discipline, he told himself.

But oh yeah, he still had that bunny in his room, he remembered. Better just to say to his nephews that he hadn’t noticed him until now as he was soon to return Bilbo back to them.

 But as Thorin turned around, he now saw something very unexpected. Something that made him rub his eyes, blinking them rapidly in a case he was still in half-asleep. But now, he was wide awake and what he saw was anything but a hallucination.

Instead of Bilbo, his soft little bunny, there was a man lying on his bed. A naked man, to be accurate. And not just some regular man, he had pair of long, soft furry ears and a little bobtail.

For some reason Thorin stayed calm. Well he was a little shocked, but didn’t want to wake up the sleeping man who had curled himself into a small ball, knees against his chest. But there was something very familiar in him… In those brown soft-looking curls… And somehow his presence was reminding him from the calmness he had felt last night. 

So Thorin carefully leaned closer, and after seeing closer those long ears and gently touching the fur of them Thorin whispered.

“Bilbo..?”

The small man opened his tired eyes, blinking them slowly as he woke up and said quietly.

“Thorin..?”

 

 

 -------------------------

 

 

“Alright! Someone , explain me what the hell this means!”

 

But nobody was able to speak. They all had waited something very different when they heard that their future majesty had wanted to see them immediately. But as they stepped in Thorin’s chamber their mouths fell open and eyes widened: Covered in sheets, there was a small man sitting on Thorin’s bed, having two bunny ears sticking out of his head.

Thorin was standing next to his bed, speaking in a loud voice, telling that he knew that this must be his nephews doing. He demanded to know what was the idea of this stupid prank.

“Wait. That man over there… Is Bilbo?” Bofur said in disbelieve, voicing the thought they all had.

“I… I am.” the bunny-eared man stuttered, being as much in shock than everyone else. In a one night his whole body had changed, and he had no idea what had caused that..! This hadn’t certainly happened before..!

Then the silent came. Thorin stared angrily his subordinates, demanding to know the reason for this mess. Bilbo shivered under the twelve gazes who looked at him even more weirdly than the day he had been first brought in this castle. 

But at least Ori opened his mouth.

“He is very cute, don’t you think so?”

“Ori! Be quiet!” Dori scolded his brother, but it was already too late; Kili, Fili, Bofur, Bombur and Nori couldn’t agree Ori more, and they were all babbling how impossible cute the little man in front them was.

“And just when I thought that he couldn’t be any cuter!” Bombur laughed, but Thorin wasn’t amused.

“This is not funny!”

But it was hard for even his bodyguards, doctor and council members to keep their mouths from saying something like “how adorable he is!”, and Thorin could see how they were trying suppress their smiles.

And for Bilbo the situation was getting a little bit awkward and scary too; almost everyone wanted to touch his soft skin, pet his curly hair and especially they wanted to take a closer look at his ears.

“I have never seen anything like this before!” Oin commented as he examined Bilbo’s new form.

“Tell me lad, have you always been rabbit before this or was there just some curse spelled on you?”

Bilbo shook his head. He had always been a bunny, never even wanted to be a human.

“Do you mean that there is some kind of sorcery behind this?” Thorin asked. No, he didn’t believe in magic, but he had heard that there were some sort of wizards whom wandered among the people, doing either good or bad things with their powers.

“Umm… According to an old folktale, if a member of the royal family kisses an animal, the animal will change into a human.” the little scribe Ori shared his knowledge, again causing an oppressive silent, until Bofur started to laugh.

“That’s great! Well, my king-to-be, did your highness give a kiss to your little pet before the bedtime?”

Thorin opened his mouth for shouting a denial, but then he remembered that he actually had kissed Bilbo for a goodnight. A blush appeared on his face, and soon he was the only one with Bilbo who didn’t laugh in the room.

“So you did uncle! Oh I knew that you cared about Bilbo, no matter what! How sweet!” Kili spoke through his laughter, and now Thorin’s confusion was again turning to anger.

“Enough! Balin! Dori! You will try to find a solution to this problem with me immediately! Others will find something to wear for… Bilbo… And Fili and Kili! You will stay away from my eyes for the next two years, got it?!”

Then Thorin stormed out from the chamber, Dori and Balin following him. The others stayed in the room, sharing glances with each other and Bilbo. Fili circled around the bed, until he stated that even Ori’s clothes would be too big for this small man. But thank lord their scribe knew how to do many other things besides writing and drawing.

“You know, I could knit him something…”

 

 

 -----------------

 

 

Even after many hours of talking and thinking, Thorin, Balin and Dori haven’t figure out what had changed Bilbo into a human. But eventually they decided that it really didn’t matter anymore; Bilbo was now human and there is nothing they could do about it. The real question was what they would do with him now? When Thorin said that they would just let the man go whenever he pleased, others didn’t agree with him.

“You know, Bilbo is kind of a in our responsibility. Especially in your responsibility, Thorin.” Balin said, Dori nodding next to him.

“My responsibility?!”

“Well, yes. You’re his owner after all.” Dori defended Balin’s statement.

“He was given to me by my nephews! I didn’t ask to have him!”

“Maybe not, but most likely you did something that made him change his form, so it’s your job to take care of him now too.”

They argued about this for a while, until Thorin huffed and closed his mouth. He knew that once he makes up his mind, his men would follow him anywhere and do as he says. But these faithful men also weren’t afraid to say when they disagreed with him. But no, Thorin wouldn’t bend in this matter; he wouldn’t start to babysit an adult man with bunny ears and tail, he doesn’t have time for that. He is supposed to take over the crown in less than a year, there are many things he needs to do and learn before it.

 But as Thorin was about to say his final word in this matter, the meeting-room’s door flew open and his two musicians among with Dwalin and Ori entered in the room.

“We have done as you told, your Highness!  May we present you our cute little bunny, now fully clothed!” Nori smiled and stepped aside.

Thorin was almost as shocked as on the morning when he first saw Bilbo, but this time he also felt how his heart started to beat unnecessarily fast. His men had dressed Bilbo in knitted clothes, or actually in knitted shirt ‘cause it covered Bilbo almost down to his knees, covering almost completely the years-old knee-length trouser that Ori had given to him. The shirt was a way too big for Bilbo, but the young scribe quickly explained that he would knit a more fitting one for him as soon as he could.  But Bilbo looked like that he felt comfy in those big, warm but airy clothes; he wore a faint smile, the kind of one that Thorin imagined him to have on the last night, and his cheeks were sweetly pink. His ears were flipping, which made him look a little relaxed. And before Bilbo had any time to get too nervous Thorin sighed and said:

“Okay… Where would he go anyway? I let him stay here until we figure out a better solution.”

Instead of cheering they all just smiled, not wanting to do anything that might annoy their short-tempered prince. Then Thorin stood up, and as he walked out from the room he only glanced Bilbo, leaving the smaller man wonder what the peculiar look in those blue eyes meant.

“Thank lord that you can be smart sometimes.” Dori sighed, throwing a smile towards his brothers and their companions.

“Well yeah, we knew that Thorin wouldn’t throw him out after seeing him like this.” Bofur ruffled Bilbo’s curly hair, being amazed how those locks felt exactly same as the fur he had had before.

“Please, no petting anymore!” Bilbo squirmed away, telling everyone that now that he was a human he was ought to be treated like a one.

“Well, you’re not actually a human with those ears and tail…” Dwalin pointed out, quietly.

“No, Bilbo must mean that we should not pet him, since we aren’t his owners!” Nori smirked.

“Yeah, the only one who should be able to do that is his master, his Highness Thorin!” Bofur nodded, chuckling with his friend.

Then the two musicians turned to look at Bilbo, ready to apologize for teasing him. But their smiles faded slowly away as they saw how Bilbo had only blushed furiously instead of getting angry…

 

 

\-----------

 

 

For a bunny Bilbo was much more human than the others in the castle. He wasn’t one of the maids, but he found cleaning fun, did all kinds of housework and helped others in a way he could. It was amusing for everyone always to see those long furry ears in front of them, since Bilbo was so short that he barely reached to their shoulders.

Now that Bilbo was walking with two legs and could speak, he was still more like a pet to others. They still petted his soft locks, which always annoyed Bilbo, and sometimes they even carried the small man around, which of course annoyed Bilbo even more. So to put it short, besides Bilbo’s form nothing had much changed. Not even Thorin’s behavior, unfortunately.

The prince often just gave his usual cold, majestic look to his little pet, never touched and just walked away. Even though Thorin had said that it was okay for Bilbo to stay here, the small man felt himself so unwanted whenever he gained that look. His disappointment could be seen by everyone when his ears flopped down, and his dark big eyes were staring at the floor. Seeing their little bunny like this depressed them all, and the thought about that Thorin would never change also darkened their minds.

 But of course, the faith could not allow that tragedy.

It had taken two weeks till Bilbo was getting to know where every room in this castle was located. Sometimes when he got bored he just wandered around, peeking through the door gaps into the dark rooms. You could already guess that he didn’t feel brave enough to step in to those rooms, not alone. But this time, when the dim candle light from the corridor lightened a bit the room in front of him, Bilbo couldn’t resist the urge to go and watch closer the sight that was revealed to him;

A huge, book-filled library.

Okay, Bilbo had been a bunny; he couldn’t read or knew much about a books. But he had seen how Gandalf had read those, and Ori was almost never seen without a book in his hands. Bilbo had always been so interested to know what kind of magic those paperbacks held, what stories were hidden in them.

And to see all those books… Those bookshelves were huge..! The big room’s walls were covered by them, and the shelves reached from the floor till the high ceiling.

At first Bilbo just stared, eyes wide and mouth open. He felt such an urge to climb up to one latter, reach for a one big, red book from the middle of those shelves. Then he remembered what was said to happen to a curious little bunnies; they ended up in wolfs mouth... But Bilbo wasn’t a bunny, well, not a complete bunny anymore, and as he looked over his shoulder he couldn’t see any wolves either.

“It’s perfectly safe…”, Bilbo said to himself, but he couldn’t deny that he was feeling a little thrilled about the tiny feeling of the danger as he climbed few steps up of those wooden old latters. Determinedly he kept climbing, eyes fixed on that red book.   

“Finally!” he smiled as he was eventually able to reach out that one book.

 But then, the faith decided to be little bit tricky…

 Bilbo’s foot slipped just a one inch, but that was enough to make him fall backwards, hands trying desperately to take a hold from the air. Well, if he was to die now, he only got himself to blame; he knew that bunnies should never be curious or adventurous..!

 But hitting your back on the floor didn’t hurt so much after all. Actually, it didn’t even felt like he was lying on a stony surface, he was more like floating.

“Are you okay?”

Bilbo, who had shut his eyes thigh as he fell, opened them slowly.

“Th-Thorin..!”

As the future king saw that his little bunny hadn’t got hurt, he slowly lowered Bilbo on the floor from his arms.

“What were you doing here all alone?”

Thorin didn’t sound so angry, but Bilbo still felt like he was being scolded. He stammered that he was just being curious, and was very sorry for being so clumsy.

“If you want to read a book, you should ask from Ori or Balin; they know everything about them.” Thorin said as he started to pick up the books that had fallen with Bilbo. When he reached to touch that big red one, Bilbo couldn’t help but ask him what it was about.

“This? Just some old tales about our kingdom’s history…” Thorin answered as he studied the old leather-covered book.

“Sounds… Interesting.” Bilbo nodded, not really knowing how to have a conversation with this dark, tall and usually so grim man. He couldn’t even open his mouth when Thorin just handed him that book and began to walk away.

“Here, read if you want to.”

“Um, but I..!”

Thorin turned around, only to see that the smaller man looked twice more troubled than before.

“You can’t read, can you?” Thorin sighed, gaining a small nod from embarrassed Bilbo, who immediately started to explain the reason for his illiteracy.

“I, I used to be a rabbit, you know! As a rabbit you don’t read much, now do you?”

“I guess you don’t… Look, you can ask Ori to read that to you, he usually has some free time.” Thorin suggested, but Bilbo didn’t look much happier.

“He… he said that he has something to do with Dwalin…” Bilbo mumbled, and Thorin understood right away what Bilbo meant; after all, nobody wants to be the third wheel.

“Then Nori or Bofur can read that to you.”

“But… They needed to do some rehearsal for some concert…”

“Oh yeah, I had forgotten that…”

Thorin tried to think someone, but everyone were pretty busy at the moment. He had even given his nephews all kinds of things to do just to teach them more responsibility. It would be like playing for them if they spent too much time with Bilbo.

“It’s… It’s okay, I can ask someone to read it for me later.” Bilbo said, not wanting to bother anyone with his request.

“It can take some time.” Thorin answered, but Bilbo just shook his head and told that he could wait. And Thorin started to feel himself so uneasy when he saw how sad the little bunny-eared man looked, suddenly remembering that this was how he always saw Bilbo; like he was only miserable around Thorin, the man who was technically his “owner”. And somehow that just doesn’t seem right.

“Well, you know… “, Thorin stared, coughing a little to his fist. Bilbo lifted his gaze from his feet, eyes suddenly full of hope.

“I don’t have anything too important going on now. Especially in the evenings. I, well… I could read that to you, if you want…”

Thorin couldn’t believe how hard it was to say those words! He wasn’t usually the one who offered his help for the others, not really knowing how to do that. And the reason why he had hesitated so much to say those words was because he knew that Bilbo would refuse; it seemed that the little man was more afraid than fond of him. And Thorin hated nothing more than rejection. But what else he should have said, when Bilbo looked so miserable.

“I… I would like that very much, thank you!”

Thorin, who had again turned his face away from Bilbo, looked back again and saw the prettiest smile he ever had seen on that little bunny’s face. He could feel himself blush a little bit, which was very improper for a king, and for a future king too, so he just coughed again and turned his back face to Bilbo again.

“Just come to my chamber when the evening comes.“

“Right, thank you again!”

“It’s… nothing…” Thorin mumbled, then he finally walked away.

 

Others had noticed how very peculiar Bilbo was acting for the rest of the day; he was smiling without a visible reason, humming, sometimes blushing, even looking a little bit uncomfortable, then again smiling, almost giggling sometimes. But whenever they asked what was on his mind, Bilbo refused to answer, starting to pretend that he was suddenly busy.

“You’re hiding something, Bilbo!” Kili leaned closer to him, smiling teasingly.

“I-I’m not!”

“Has this something to do with our uncle?” Fili had appeared next to his brother, and he was sure that he got his guess right when Bilbo blushed hard.

“I-it’s not your business!” Bilbo shouted before he quickly stood up and ran away, noticing minutes later that it was soon about the time to go and meet Thorin in his chamber.

 

\-------

 

 

“You’re here…”

“Yes. Too early?”

“No, come in, before anybody sees you and starts to spread around odd rumors.”

Bilbo quickly hopped in Thorin’s chamber, and after checking that nobody saw them Thorin closed the heavy door. He motioned Bilbo to sit down on the bed, he himself took the chair that was placed in front of his small working desk. After taking the book in his hands, he started to feel a little bit awkward, not really knowing how to start with this all. Like, he hadn’t ever even read a one damn story to his nephews..!

“Well… Do you want me to start from the beginning, or is there something that you would like to know about our history especially?”  he asked as he glanced Bilbo, seeing his big eyes full of anticipation.

“From the beginning, please.” the smaller man said politely.

“Alright… _‘It was said that once upon a time, this land was nothing but a deserted wilderness, but then_ -‘”

When Thorin had finally read the one, long chapter, he closed the book and sighed; he had completely forgotten all these great tales that were wrote about this kingdom. From this kingdom, which he was soon to lead, and he had forgot how this great place was born..! He would never admit that he had made a big mistake by forgetting that, but in his mind he couldn’t help but scold himself.

“What do you think about it?” Thorin asked from his small, former rabbit. But as he turned to look at the man, he realized that Bilbo had already fallen in asleep.  Oh, he had almost forgotten this important fact too; how loveable this little rabbit-man looked when he was sleeping.

And that was a sight that Thorin got to see more than twice, more than he could even count: it had become a little secret of theirs, these reading-sessions in evenings. And always Bilbo would fall asleep at the end, curling himself in a little ball on Thorin’s soft bedcovers. And always Thorin would take some time just to admire that special little man, petting softly those caramel brown curls. And when he had made sure that everyone else were sleeping too, he carried Bilbo to his own room, wanting to prevent the awkward situation in the morning. Of course Bilbo remembered that he had not been sleeping in his own bed for the whole night, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stay awake..! Thorin’s voice was somehow so comforting, low and safe. But when the future king didn’t seem to mind about carrying the former rabbit around, Bilbo decided not to stress too much about it.

So this little secret of theirs continued long enough for Thorin to start teaching Bilbo how to read by himself.  Oh, he didn’t start to do so because he wasn’t willing to read for Bilbo anymore, of course not! He had just noticed how happy Bilbo looked whenever he knew how to pronounce some of the letters, read few words awkwardly on his own.

“” _And after forever too…”_ Did I get it right?”

“Yes, perfectly.” Thorin smiled towards grinning Bilbo after the short man had finally been able to read the whole sentence without any help.

“Soon you won’t need me anymore to read you.” the king-to-be continued, meaning to praise his little pet. But Bilbo’s smile instantly drifted away, and he would have started to stutter some nonsense if Thorin hadn’t realize his mistake.

“Then we can read together…”

As the smile appeared again on Bilbo’s lips, Thorin sighed, relieved to know that the peculiar bunny-eared man would have missed these events as much as he did.

Bilbo kept smiling, combing his own furry ears with his fingers. The comfy air around them was slowly changing into something else, something like awkward but not quite still. Bilbo blinked his eyes rapidly under Thorin’s gaze, shifting on the bed little nervously.

“Well… I guess that it’s the bed time for me..!” the brunette clapped his hands together, ready to get up. But as he was about to jump off Thorin’s soft bed, a strong hand touched gently his shoulder, stilling his movements.

“Umm… Thorin..?”

But the prince didn’t answer. Bilbo’s long ears were filled with the sound of his own heartbeat, thinking that maybe finally, finally Thorin would show him something more than just kindness. Oh, it’s not like Bilbo was desperately in love with his owner, no..! But… Well… He had just wondered what it would feel like to feel those thin, gently smiling lips against his head or cheek now when Bilbo was not a little animal anymore. And sometimes he had dared to dream how those lips would feel against his own…

Thinking that, Bilbo slowly closed his eyes and lifted his head up a bit. He felt how Thorin’s thumb was slowly drawing a little circles on Bilbo’s shoulder, then on his neck, then on his cheek…

But after some seconds, the hand pulled away. And nothing happened.

“Goodnight Bilbo…”

Opening his eyes, Bilbo saw how Thorin had turned his back to face the smaller man, leaving Bilbo to wonder what kind of expression he was wearing; Thorin’s voice certainly hadn’t sound happy.

After stuttering his own goodnight-wishes, Bilbo quickly leaved the room, feeling so disappointed and great shame. He did not know that as Thorin heard his shaky voice and the sound of door closing, he couldn’t remember when was the last time he had felt so miserable.

And so had started the new routine in their “please red me this book”-events. At first, every now and then the scenario that I just told you repeated, ending their evening in most awkward way. And after a while, something like that happened in every night: Thorin would just gaze Bilbo, blue eyes glued to him. Then he would gently stroke Bilbo’s upper body or face, but never he leaned closer for a kiss.

“Why you’re upset?”

Ori had already repeated his question for a few times until his voice finally reached in Bilbo’s ears.

“I-I’m not upset!” Bilbo lied as he tried again to focus on his knitting work.

“Prince Fili and Prince Kili are sure that your sadness has something to do with their uncle… And they are not the only ones…” Ori confessed carefully.

Oh yes. Even if Thorin and Bilbo thought so, their meetings in Thorin’s chamber were not went unnoticed by everyone else..! They had known from the start, but decided to play along and pretend that they didn’t know how close their little bunny and future king had got. They had already started to hope that Bilbo had made his way in to Thorin’s heart, but judging by Bilbo’s depressed mood lately, their hope had started to shatter again.

“I’m okay, no need to worry.” Bilbo faked a smile, telling himself that hoping for more than Thorin’s friendship was foolish; Bilbo was not a real human, Thorin wouldn’t see him as a lover, he would always see him as a pet. After all, with his ears and tail he wasn’t even looking like a real human, why any king would want to have a consort who looked like he had just run away from the freak circus?

 Ori would have liked to push Bilbo a little bit more, but then Bofur run in the room, asking did the scribe knew where the young princes were.

“There is an old man outside, demanding to meet them right away. I have never seen him before, and never even heard of; he calls himself as Mister Gray…”

After hearing the name, Bilbo jumped up, dropping his knit work as he did.

“Gandalf!”

Oh, Ori and Bofur were both so very surprised as Bilbo was out from the room in a few seconds, his quick legs carrying him towards the main gate. In less than a minute he was already outside, eyes blew wide as he saw how the tall man’s head was looking over Nori and Gloin, mouth dropping open as he saw Bilbo.

“Bilbo..! Bilbo it is you, isn’t it?”

Nodding frantically, Bilbo took a few steps closer to his former owner. Neither of them didn’t get to say or ask anything else as the others appeared behind Bilbo, not getting this situation at all.

“Fili… That’s the man from whom we bought Bilbo!”

“I remember Kili..!”

The two princes were flabbergasted to see the old salesman standing there, and even more surprised to hear that he was there to see them.

“Wait, how did you know that we-“ Fili was about to ask, but by then Gandalf had already made his way to Bilbo, examining  Bilbo’s form.

“You really are Bilbo…” he sighed, cursing that he had come too late.

“I’m sorry that this happened to you. Must have been a bit of a shock…” Gandalf apologized, but Bilbo shook his head.

“Don’t be, I’m all fine! I got used to this pretty fast, walking with two legs and wearing clothes.” Bilbo said, adding a smile to comfort Gandalf.

“Yeah, Bilbo is a natural talent what comes to be a human!” Bofur patted the little rabbit-man on the shoulder, and soon everyone else also started to praise Bilbo, making him blush just a tiniest bit.

“And actually in this form he have managed to do the thing we thought were impossible for any man in this kingdom!” Kili hugged Bilbo from behind, and Gandalf soon remembered why the two boys had wanted to buy his rabbit in the first place; to melt their uncle’s – the future king of Erebor – heart.

“Well, I’m glad to hear that you’re fine.” the old man smiled as he bent down to look his former pet in the eyes, making sure that the short man was truly okay.

“What’s the meaning of this?”

Everybody turned to look at the crown prince, who didn’t look so amused as he had heard that some old grey man had wanted to meet his nephews and ask something about Bilbo.

“It’s an honor to meet the future king of Erebor.” Gandalf bowed, adding that he would explain himself  right away.

“I came here to check Bilbo’s condition, since I noticed too late that I had given the wrong kinds of herbs for the young princes there!”

“The herbs..? Oh, you mean that pouch you gave to us?” Fili remembered, telling that it was alright, since they had not had a change to feed them to Bilbo when he still was a bunny.

“Yeah, if our uncle hasn’t throw it away, I think the pouch is still in his nightstand.” Kili turned to look at Thorin, who looked a bit troubled, couching few times to his fist.

“Well… He might have eaten some…”

“Oh yes, you fed me some that night, I remember now!” Bilbo blurted, not being aware of the raised eyebrows and grins his statement got.

“Well, if you have eaten them it explains lot of things…” Gandalf started, sighing heavily as he told the whole story.

“You see, I got those herbs from my friend Radagast as I started to take care of Bilbo. They were medicine, he told me. But now when I went to visit him again after giving Bilbo to young princes, he told me that he had done a mistake and had accidentally given me… Well, some other kind of medicine… I came back here as soon as I could, but the accident had already happen I suppose…”

 After they had fully understood Gandalf’s explanation, they wanted to know was there any side-effects on that medicine. As the answer was no, they let out a sigh of relief.

“So it were the herbs, not the kiss which changed him after all!” Ori smiled, making some of the others giggle, but Thorin and Bilbo blushed.

“Yeah, we were a bit foolish to believe that..!” Balin laughed and shook his head. After gaining a short explanation from Nori, Gandalf also started to laugh with them.

“It seems that Bilbo softened his heart sooner that was expected.” he leaned to whisper to Fili’s ear, who threw a knowing smirk towards his uncle.

“Now, shouldn’t we all go inside and have something to drink? I bet our quest here is pretty tired after his journey.” Balin suggested, and Bilbo’s face enlightened.

“You will stay for a while Gandalf?”

“If your king lets me, I would love to.” Gandalf smiled, and Thorin nodded at that.

“You gave some needed informations for us, of course you’re allowed to stay over for a night.” Thorin stated, adding that they would have had a use for that information sooner,  but he was ready to forget that.

“Just some drinks won’t be enough now, let’s have a proper feast!” Bombur stated, gaining cheers as he made his way in to the kitchen.

 

 

 ----------

 

 

The mood was very light and merry as they sat around the large table, chatting about this and that, some of them even singing as they had little too much of ale. Gandalf had many interesting stories to tell, and being so fascinated by them Bilbo didn’t notice how Thorin had stared at him almost for the whole evening. He waited for a good opportunity to ask something from Gandalf in private, but in the end he didn’t need to wait till the end of the feast as a slightly drunken doctor Oin voiced his question out loud.

“So, about the herbs… Is the effect only temporary and he will change back to bunny someday?”

As Oin was almost deaf, he had nearly shouted his question, and so everyone stopped talking, waiting in fear what the answer might be.

“Well, I asked the same from Radagast, and according to him Bilbo won’t be able to return back to his old form without some powerful sorcery… At first I was worried about that, but now that I see that he looks happy and okay I think that we don’t need to worry about him staying like this for the rest of his life.” Gandalf said with a smile, and Bilbo hurried to tell that he didn’t wish to return back to his old form.

“Well, at first it was pretty scary to see everything from this high, but I’m sure that I would miss being a human so much if I were ever to change back to being a bunny again!”

“You’re still pretty short for a human…” Gloin coughed.

“So this means we will have him forever like this!” Kili and Fili grinned, and soon everyone else were cheering with them. Everyone else but Thorin, who just sighed and rubbed his eyes.

“I think that I retreat to bed now. Please make sure to show our quest his room.” Thorin said to Balin as he stood up and quietly left the dining room.

Nobody really paid any attention on Thorin’s leaving through their drunkenness, but Bilbo who preferred to drink water immediately noticed as his soon-to-be king walked away.

“Excuse me Gandalf, can we talk more tomorrow? I think I have something important to do now..!” Bilbo excused himself and run after Thorin.

“Thorin!”

The prince stopped as he heard how the sweet voice called his name, and in a mere seconds Bilbo was already standing next to him in the hallway.

“Umm, I just wanted to ask can we read again tonight..?” Bilbo inquired, but Thorin just kept rubbing his forehead with his thumb and index finger, refusing to look at the smaller man.

“Oh… I-I’m sorry, you must be tired… Just forget th-“

Bilbo went silent when suddenly a strong hand pressed against his chest, forced him to back against the nearby wall, and before he could even think what was going on Thorin had already bent down and kissed his lips fiercely.

Bilbo was so surprised, and couldn’t bring himself to relax or kiss back, but he wasn’t pushing Thorin away either. And just when he felt that he couldn’t breathe anymore, Thorin pulled away, searching for the look of disgust from Bilbo’s face, and was relieved when he saw none.

“Oh, how I have wanted to do that..!” he sighed, hand stroking Bilbo’s soft curls and furry ears gently.

“Then… Why didn’t you do this sooner… You have had chances, you know?” Bilbo asked, tilting his head when it took some time for Thorin to answer.

“Well… I was just afraid that… That if it was a kiss that changed you into human, then what if another kiss would have changed you back to rabbit.”

After Thorin’s words had hit him, Bilbo couldn’t help but chuckle a little bit, making the prince blush.

“So that’s why you hesitated so much when we were alone!”

Bilbo couldn’t believe that this was the reason why he had been so upset! Thorin just didn’t want him to change back; he liked Bilbo just the way he was now.

“My Prince, you really think too much, you know!”

Thorin had seen Bilbo smiling often when they were reading together, but seeing him laughing made Thorin’s heart skip a beat. But no matter how much he enjoyed of hearing Bilbo’s sweet laughter, he decided that he had enjoyed much more of having those lips against his own, and so he pulled Bilbo in his arms, lifting the smaller man up a bit for another kiss.

“You won’t change back to rabbit ever, right?” Thorin murmured against Bilbo’s lips, who needed a moment to catch his breath.

“I-I don’t think that I would ever want to change back… But I must say that there were some good sides of being a rabbit too!” Bilbo said, wanting to make clear that his life surely hadn’t been miserable as he had been a rabbit..!

“Well, then I’ll show some really good sides of being a human now.” Thorin smirked before he leaned to kiss Bilbo again, other hand holding his small form up as the other was stroking Bilbo’s face and hair.

Bilbo couldn’t count how many times they had already shared those fervent kisses. And when he was able to pull more than just a few inches away from Thorin’s face, the taller man had somehow leaded them in his chamber, closing the door behind them.

“I guess we won’t be reading anything tonight?” Bilbo asked with a little chuckle as Thorin laid him down on the bed.

“You complaining?” the prince asked as he sat next to Bilbo, who shook his head for response and tugged Thorin for a kiss, enjoying the feeling of the short beard against his face.

“You know, there is many other things we could do besides kissing.” Thorin whispered with a smile, making the smaller man blush up to his furry ears as the idea sank in him.

“You… You would… With me?” Bilbo stuttered with a voice barely louder than a quietest whisper, and Thorin couldn’t understand why the adorable creature in front of him would think himself unworthy of the prince affection and desire.

“I-I’m still not completely a human, you know… I have these ears and tail and I don’t know much about… You know…”

Thorin lifted Bilbo’s reddened face to look at him, pecking him a little kiss on the lips.

“I thought that rabbits knew quite well about these matters.” Thorin teased, making the small man frown and defend his former race.

“And how much do you know about being a rabbit?! Don’t generalize! I come from very respectable family, thank you!”

Thorin couldn’t help but chuckle a bit and smile fondly to this little man who had much more in him than you would have first thought. He apologized his lack of knowledge by kissing Bilbo again, tugging gently his clothes off at the same time. Bilbo’s own hands found their way quickly on Thorin’s chest, trying to find a way to get the man out of his heavy tunic. But in the end Thorin needed to pull away and undress himself, knowing that all those buttons and braids were probably too complicated for his little lover.

Bilbo’s eyes were wide and his mouth slightly open as he saw Thorin’s bare upper body, the muscled wide chest and strong thick arms.  He was so sure that Thorin would keep him safe, but at the same time to see all that power in front of him also frightened him a bit. Through Bilbo’s admiration Thorin could see that slight hint of fear, but as he was about to ask did Bilbo want to stop or take things slower, the bunny-eared man stroked his beard, other hand resting on his chest as he leaned to steal another kiss.

“My father was right… My curiosity is going to kill me…” Bilbo murmured as he placed that kiss on Thorin’s lips. As Thorin stripped Bilbo’s knitted shirt off and kissed and bit his neck, Bilbo knew that he was going right in wolf’s mouth, but suddenly the thought being eaten wasn’t as terrifying as it had been before… Well he was still a little bit scared, but not terrified.

As Thorin moved his hand back and forth on Bilbo’s back, his fingers quickly found the thing that none of his former lovers had; the little bobtail. He had almost forgot that Bilbo had it, since it was usually hidden under his long shirts and jackets, but as Thorin now touched it he felt how Bilbo flinched a bit, this clearly being one of his sensitive spots; Thorin grinned to himself for finding that out.

“Are you feeling good?” Thorin mused as Bilbo’s breathing was getting heavier, and Thorin’s other hand moved to touch his front.

“Th-Thorin!” Bilbo gasped at the feeling of being touched, not knowing where he should place his own hands.

“Relax, we still got lot to do…”

Before Bilbo was being overly stimulated, Thorin removed his hand from Bilbo’s member and pulled the short man to lean against his chest. Bilbo pressed his head on Thorin’s shoulder, fighting against the urge to touch himself as he knew that Thorin must have had his reasons to stop before Bilbo could reach his end.

“Pl-please…” Bilbo pleaded Thorin to do something, and who was Thorin to deny anything from this sweet, special creature? He leaned his own back against the headboard, pulling Bilbo to lean more on top of him, chest against chest. From this position he easily reached to the little glass vial filled with some liniment he had got from Oin; it’s original purpose was to ease some pain in his shoulders after the hard day, but tonight Thorin figured out another use for it.

Bilbo’s furry ears tickled nicely his cheeks as the little rabbit-man buried his face on Thorin’s shoulder, breath unsteady against Thorin’s collarbone.

“That’s it… Just relax…” Thorin whispered as he opened the vial, applying some liniment on his fingers while his other hand stroked comfortingly Bilbo’s back.

Bilbo gasped as he felt Thorin’s hand slipping below his tail, and after the first finger found its way inside him Bilbo’s body stilled and eyes opened wide. As Thorin prepared him, Bilbo felt a large scale of feelings always from the discomfort to pain and pleasure. It took some time till the pleasure got stronger, and Bilbo’s quiet moans were telling Thorin that he was doing something right in that moment.

“You’re doing so well…” Thorin cooed, and experimentally his other hand slid down to stroke Bilbo’s little tail.

“Thorin!” Bilbo suddenly gasped, his whole body flinching. Thorin was pleased in the way how the shorter man’s whole body shook in his arms, but the prince also knew that Bilbo wouldn’t last long if he continued this way. So Thorin decided to be merciful and warped his hand over Bilbo’s back, giving other some time to focus on the fingers inside of him again.

As Bilbo’s small body writhed against Thorin’s chest, the king-to-be also felt that it was hard for him to keep the slow rhythm and restrain himself. Bilbo still felt quite tight around his fingers, but Bilbo’s moans and whimpers told him that the smaller man wasn’t in pain.

“Do you think you can take some more?” Thorin asked, scissoring his fingers for giving Bilbo a better idea of what he was meaning.  After a gasp and short silence, Bilbo lifted his head from Thorin’s shoulder and stole a kiss from his owner’s lips.

“You…Promise you will be gentle..!” Bilbo breath out, making Thorin chuckle a bit as he promised to be as gentle as possible.

After applying a great amount of that liniment on his erection, Thorin lifted Bilbo up a bit, pressing lightly against his entrance.

“Relax and breath.” Thorin said, and as Bilbo did as told, Thorin lowered him slowly on him,  groaning as he felt that tightness and heat around him. Bilbo’s short fingernails scratched dully Thorin’s chest and stomach, few tears falling through his cheeks as it took a while for that pleasure to take over again. And when it did, Bilbo’s vision blurred and he couldn’t keep his breathing steady anymore.

“Ah..! Pl-please..!”

“Please what?” Thorin asked, somehow managing to get hold of himself even though the pleasure was nearly blinding for him too. But he had promised to be gentle, and stayed still till Bilbo was completely used to this new sensation.

“M-more… Please Thorin, more..!”

Bilbo really wasn’t sure what he was asking for; the pleasure mixed with a slight pain was overwhelming as it was, but at the same time not enough. The tingling pain measured with pleasure as Thorin couldn’t restrain himself anymore and started to move in and out in Bilbo’s body, but eventually the gratification won again. As Bilbo shook and whimpered in Thorin’s hold, pleasure blinding him, he couldn’t tell where Thorin’s hands and mouth went, kissing and stroking him all over. Then one of the hands found its way on Bilbo’s front, and just after a touch Bilbo suddenly came, Thorin reaching his release only seconds later.

Bilbo fell limp in his lover’s arms, Thorin relaxing his own back against the headboard. After they had catch their breaths, Thorin lifted Bilbo’s chin up and kissed the other man tenderly. And somewhere between that and the moment before they fell asleep they talked a little about how much they loved this all, loved each other and how Thorin would never carry Bilbo back to sleep in his own bed again.

 

 

 --------------

 

 

“Bilbo will be sad if you leave like this, without saying goodbye.” Balin sighed as he helped Gandalf to saddle his horse early in the morning.

“Tell him that I will come back soon. After all, I wouldn’t miss the party as this kingdom finally gains a new king, and his consort too..!” Gandalf smiled, easing a bit of the quilt Balin was feeling for not telling others about Gandalf’s early leaving. As the old, tall man was finally ready to ride away, he reached on his belt and handed a little pouch to Balin.

“Here; these herbs will be useful if Bilbo ever wishes to get rid of his tail and ears and become a real, well, a real looking human, that’s it.”

Balin took the pouch, understanding that even though they all loved Bilbo just the way he was, he knew that someday they will have to think how Bilbo’s looks would affect him as a King’s consort.

“Congratulations, your plan worked; it seems that Bilbo made his way in Thorin’s heart sooner than expected..!”

“Oh yes, who would have believed that..! A one little bunny, changing into a human… Well, almost human by an accident and Thorin finds his feelings again..! Nobody could have never planned that..!”, Balin laughed, but soon his thoughts start to run and he lifted his serious eyes to meet Gandalf’s, who just smiled.

“Don’t tell me that you planned this all..? Gave the “wrong” herbs to Fili and Kili, and only came back to hand me this..?”

Gandalf smirked, lifted his eyebrows and without saying a word he rode away towards the rising sun. 

 

 

The End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> aargh I so hate myself right now! There was actually not supposed to be any sex-scene in this fic, but my boyfriend had this marvellous idea to write one and after I was a bit more sober looked the text again, laughed hard and started to censor it ('cause I'm soooo prude! Or, I can read it but not write it). But I still think it's very stupid. And have a cliché ending, 'cause this kinda is a fairytale or something and they tend to have one. 
> 
> But hey anyway, I was very happy to receive some comments to this story, surprised that people gave this kudos, added bookmarks and even red it in the first place, but I wanna thank you all who did so! And I'm very, very sorry about this, my bad English and my bad story..!


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